Thursday, July 2, 2015

New beginnings – more bad weather and many rivers to cross!

Last month I opened the blog with the commentary, “with
April showers, May flowers” and I closed with the remark, I don’t mind the
rains – the floods, on the other hand, well that’s an entirely different story
– and there are predictions once again for a few more wet days to come. Well,
little did I know just how much rain we would get – it’s been days of
torrential rain followed by even more rain. As June came to an end, the
temperatures finally rose to the 90s Fahrenheit, a first for the year, and a first
since September 2014. So now I can add that it’s not just with April showers,
May flowers but come June, it’s monsoon!

Fortunately, what the rains didn’t stop were the visits to the Neonatal Intensive
Care Unit (NICU) where Margo’s identical twin grandsons are being looked after
– having been born prematurely back on April 13th (in the middle of one of our earlier
trips to the west coast), they’re doing it tough. If you would like to know
just how much monitoring is performed on the premmies just check below to see
the number of monitors he is connected to – it’s steady stream of data that’s
helping to keep him growing. Seeing three generations of the Holen line though
was kind of special and a real treat for Margo – there was no hiding just how
thrilled she was; Prince George? You are on your own!

We had a break in the weather albeit just for a few days
and with the slightly warmer conditions, the national parks were able to open
Colorado’s famous trail ridge
road. Crossing the continental divide that separates Estes Park from Grand
Lake and Granby, it is also the headwaters of the Colorado River. That’s right,
there’s a place where you can literally stop the flow of the Colorado River
with your foot. At this time of year though there’s an abundant supply of snow
and as you crest the summit, portions of the road have been simply carved from
the snow. Where Margo is sitting is close to the summit but already its 12,000
feet where she sits by the stone retaining wall. In the last post I
wrote of the success the grandson of our good friends, Brian and Jan Kenny,
Colton Herta, was enjoying racing Formula Ford in England. While the
grandparents watched, he scored his first podium in a very serious for-real
race. This is a stepping stone to F1 racing and already, at 15, it’s not
uncommon to hear Colton achieving P1 during practice sessions. But qualifying
and then the race itself are quite a different story and it’s tough – being the
stepping stone, everyone is really trying hard. So3rd is impressive but I am also confident
enough to suggest that before the season is over, there will be at least one P1
trophy added to his already extensive trophy collection.

I was given a number of pictures of Colton on track at
Oulton Park but the one I liked most was of him getting air under his right
front wheel. Don’t try and tell me that even at this stage in his career he
isn’t trying hard – from the first time I saw him on track, karting, the most
obvious component of his time on track was his “determination and nouse” – and
the P3 result wasn’t something just given to Colton, but with more race
weekends ahead, it’s very much a case now of fingers crossed with more time
spent at the terminal watching live timing as it’s posted. As for his next race
– I’m watching over my shoulder even as it’s now under way at the track at
Croft, North Yorkshire. Spoiler alert! Read more about it next month but he
scored another podium, this time a second place and by the end of the weekend,
he had advanced further up the driver standings, not sitting in equal 6th place
- but more of this in next month's post.

It’s still very early in the planning cycle but towards the end of next
year, we hope to return to Europe ourselves and hope to spend time with the
Kennys and perhaps, plan it such that we too get to see Colton racing. 2016
will be three years after our joint trip
to Australia which came about three years after an earlier joint trip to
Europe, where we spent a day on the Nordschleife, or North Loop, of the
Nürburgring! Something about this pattern of every three years, but
somehow, it happens and it always takes a full year to plan. This time, rather
than anchoring the trip in Germany we will probably anchor it in southern Italy
as there are a number of new areas we would like to explore, although, given the
opportunity I would have to believe Margo would be more than content simply to
hangout in Positano. But that’s enough about this for now, as there’s a long
way to go before any such plans become a reality.

Before the Kennys returned to Los Angeles, they had one
last opportunity to catch up with Colton and of course, no opportunity was
missed when it came to selfies in front of Piccadilly Square. The Kennys are
now home in Simi Valley and we hope to see them shortly, but needless to add,
from some of the pictures we have seen that were taken in Scotland, Brian may
have developed a newfound fondness for single malt whiskeys. We will just have
to see, although having said this, the Kennys have also demonstrated a fondness
for old Scottish castles, with new photos of a just-discovered castle showing
up on a regular basis in messages to my iPhone.

Following my update on Colton last month, I received
emails from my good friend and former high school classmate, Dave Roberts. Over
the years, our friendship has been rekindled and Dave has stopped by our Niwot
home on several occasions, just as we were able to catch up with him the last
time we were in Sydney. As fate would have it, Dave is just as passionate about
cars as the Kennys and we are – perhaps more. For some time now Dave has been
racing in the historicals category having recently upgraded to a 1960s era Mini
Minor. Now, Dave is a very serious racer and attacks every corner, but
sometimes the going gets a bit willing and last time out the outcome was anything
but good. But this is all part of the challenging program, according to David,
and competing at this level is David’s passion, as is getting to mix with other
racers on real circuits, it is just part of the fun!

We still recall with considerable warmth the ride Dave organized
for us in a Ferrari F430 on Sydney’s Motorsports Park, back in 2013, even
though a few feathers were ruffled in that it was just the boys who were
invited for a ride beside a former Red Bull “Yong Gun”, but next time? Well, it
will be definitely the boys turn to sip cappuccinos while the real drivers in
the families each get to see this race track up close. As much as I always
enjoy any opportunity to drive our Maserati and even though many Maserati folks
talk in hushed terms about the bottom end of the V8 being shared with the
Ferrari California, a Maserati is no Ferrari and the day the price of a used
Ferrari F430 drops beneath that of a used Corvette … well, there’s no harm in
dreaming, right?

Dave did come to
Colorado earlier this year to ski Steamboat Springs but as best as I can tell,
there wasn’t a whole lot of snow. Shame he left when he did as it was only a
matter of weeks later when the snow simply bucketed down. It was only this past
weekend that finally Arapahoe Basin closed for the season – and it was almost
the end of June, for crying out aloud. But I am sure Dave will be back and
should he elect to visit during the warmer months, we will organize a day for
him out at our track, High Plains Raceway, as I know its layout has him
intrigued. Who knows, should this eventuate, we may even be able to tempt the
Kennys to return to Colorado.

In the meantime, with the month of June coming to a close, plans are well
underway for an extensive business-related road trip about which I will be writing
this time next month. Suffice to say, the current plan is to head down to
Dallas, Texas, with a weekend side trip down to Austin and then a quick scamper
across to Las Vegas for the July 4th celebration before a desert run to the
Sierras and onto Palo Alto. Could be many rivers to cross, as yes, I know, it’s
flooding down in Texas. And then it’s
back to Boulder in time to participate in a series of webinars for one of my clients.
Before readers start looking at their calendars to remind themselves of what
time of year it is, well then yes, we know. It’s the height of summer and we
are heading south and into the deserts where the heat will be extravagant to
say the least. That too will be covered in a future post in a little more detail.
Further spoiler alert! Las Vegas saw 111 degrees Fahrenheit as we pulled in to
camp.

Time though for the evening martinis of course and with opportunities to
eat at some of our favorite steak houses, there will be a chance more than one
martini will be sampled. Perhaps it’s just a sign of our dedication. Or not! On
the other hand, as the rains ease up and we can make it to our BBQ, there’s no
harm in sampling a quick green one as I attend to the grill and with the big
trip looming, I am not sure how many more times I will be tending grill this
month and yes, who knows, I certainly can do with the practice – grilling that
is! Before you know it, this whole backyard may be the scene of many little
feet scampering about, and I am sure I will be barred from bringing real
glasses outside, but then again, the upside of having a couple of healthy
grandchildren nearby warrants such a concession. Ah, to the slow and lazy days
of summer and the smell of heated asphalt under our tires. Back on the road,
again … and yes, of course, cheers!